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‘It has been absolutely unforgettable’ - Jane Strand

One volunteer placement was not challenge enough for Jane Strand-she took on two very different projects in two very different African countries.

“It has been absolutely unforgettable,” was Jane’s simple summary of her 8 week trip.

Starting in Kenya, Jane, 22-year-old from Childer Thornton in Cheshire, joined a small baby orphanage in Nairobi in Kenya. Working alongside Kenyan staff and volunteers to feed and nurse over 30 orphaned babies Jane undaunted by a totally new culture took on the role of nursery nurse for the first time.

The baby orphanage’s main aim is to find adoptive families for the children whilst they are still young so they can avoid a more uncertain future from within an institution.

According to a report by USAID, in 2001 more than 34 million children in Sub-Saharan Africa were orphans with this figure expected to reach 42 million as we approach 2010. The prevalence of AIDS is expected to be the biggest influence with affected families running out of people to look after the new arrivals. Orphaned children usually face one of two futures: the streets or an institution.

Jane said her greatest passion is travelling which provides her with an opportunity to continually learn new things and develop. Jane describes herself as naturally inquisitive. In her short visit to the baby orphanage in Nairobi and with little experience Jane was soon implementing a baby progress monitoring system.

Jane even managed to organise and fit in trekking and living with the Massai before jetting off to the other side of Africa to Ghana for a second volunteering placement. Jane’s responsibility stepped up a mark as she stepped into coordinator’s shoes, moved into a children’s home as live-in staff and increased her responsibility for over 60 children and young adults. Besides basic child care and domestic duties which involved bathing, feeding and collecting water from the well Jane was also responsible for teaching basic English and numeracy. Following on from her experiences in Kenya Jane also helped to get the children on the health care register.

Commenting on this live-in position Jane joked “the volunteering never finished!”

“I would also like to take this opportunity to thank you and found your service fantastic.

I will certainly be volunteering through your company again”

Jane Strand in Africa

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